Now’s the time to pump up ethanol use

In the wake of last week’s terrorist activities, the U.S. legislature needs to wake up and to begin funding more ethanol plants.

For years, people in the agricultural community have recognized this vital renewable supplement to our fuel supply. The agriculture lobbyists’ efforts have often been overshadowed by big oil and other political interests.

Our economy and our way of life centers on energy – energy that is, more often than not, unreliable in its production and in its pricing. We will never be totally independent from our foreign oil needs, but a realistic goal of 20 percent will go along way toward less dependency on foreign oil.

The long-term results of a national plan to supplement oil with ethanol have many other benefits as well: employment directly linked to running the plants as well as the many support jobs such as transportation, warehousing, maintenance, and the increased revenue for farmers for the raw material.

Fewer American dollars exported out of this country and healthy farm revenues will drive more equipment purchases, leading to more manufacturing jobs.

If I painted a utopian picture with this scenario, I apologize. The constant unreliability of the present system with its daily, if not hourly, price fluctuations and the constant threat the Middle East imposes demands a new approach to this decades-old problem.

We have the tools already at our disposal. Now we need the commitment and resolve from our government and private industry to implement a program to start us on a new path towards less dependency on foreign oil.